Course of Action

As expected, to date i have lots of projects to test specific functionalities of the game.

i had at least five versions for the terrain generator, ranging from minecraft-esque step terrain, Perlin smooth elevation, etc. I'm still not sure what is the correct approach and in the future could ask for your input  it is very important and has many implications for building placement, water levels, transition between height levels and so on.

Looking at the newly released Anno 117 demo's devlog learnt that they have smooth hills that not impact building positioning because the buildings incline softly up to 24 degrees so there are hills and the buildings follow those hills  Granted, 24 is not a big inclination and maybe my game needs sharper inclinations. I'm thinking all those soft hills will make water level too dispersed to be impactful in play.

However...  too sharp hills will pose other problems such as vehicle movement between plateaus. In old RTS games like the original C&C or Outpost 2 the higher levels were "open" at some parts as ramps. I don't dislike this approach but need something modern. Or not. The other day saw a game "Mars Horizon 2" that uses exactly that old approach. 

So in practice there will be a terrain, divided into 3 water levels, and depending on player actions the water will rise or dry up. If raising, more fishing and water economics appear. if drying up, more land will exist for construction  more mining opportunities in the untapped levels, but less drinkable water for your populace.

So what do you think? Do you incline more for smooth more realistic terrain or more edged like old games? Let me know in the comments.